This invention generally relates to environmental containment equipment, and more particularly, to portable containment equipment that can be safely and readily deployed at remote locations.
Environmental accidents, toxic chemical spills, and testing to support treaty verification inspections are examples of situations where chemical and biological testing may be required at remote sites. Investigators at these sites often perform tests and acquire evidence with limited reliable information on the makeup or concentrations of the possible hazardous substances. At these sites, many tests are performed in the open air, or with improvised engineering controls, thereby relying on wind direction and individual physical protection for their own safety. The availability of safe, reliable, and efficient containment vessels, such as gloveboxes and fume hoods, for conducting on-site environmental tests would help to protect the investigators and preserve the evidentiary value of the collected materials and the on-site tests.
Examples of gloveboxes, fume hoods, chemical analyzer cabinets, containment vessels, isolation housings, and related enclosures are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,736 (Van Der Waaij, et. al.); U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,597 and 4,548,627 (Landy); U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,146 (Gheri); U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,231 (Schaarschmidt); U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,951 (Pruchon); U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,098 and 4,909,065 (Barney); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,558 (Thomas). Further examples are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,360 (Wright); U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,547 and 6,017,376 (Doig); U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,957 (Diccianni); U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,427 and 5,537,336 (Joyce); U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,112 (Strieter); U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,791 (Long); U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,525 (Nickerson); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,765 (Henry, et. al.), which is assigned to the U.S. Army.